WA WA - Marilyn Kay Pratt, 30, Spokane, October 8, 1971

[victoriarobinson642]

Added to NAMUS today:
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

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Demographics
Missing Age - 30 Years
Current Age - 79 Years
First Name - Marilyn
Middle Name - Kay
Last Name - Pratt

Sex - Female
Height - 5' 2" - 5' 6" (62 - 66 Inches)
Weight - 160 - 170 lbs
Race / Ethnicity - White / Caucasian, Asian

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Circumstances
Date of Last Contact - October 8, 1971
NamUs Case Created - January 26, 2021
Last Known Location Map
Location - Spokane, Washington 99202
County - Spokane County
Missing From Tribal Land - No
Primary Residence on Tribal Land - No
Circumstances of Disappearance - Marilyn was last seen on the evening of 10/08/1971 by her husband and friends at a local restaurant. Marilyn only had her purse with her when she was last seen. Marilyn has not been seen or made any contact with family or friends since that evening.

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Physical Description
Hair Color - Brown
Left Eye Color - Blue
Right Eye Color - Blue

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Distinctive Physical Features
Item
Description
Scar/mark
Scar on abdomen

Other distinctive physical characteristics
Small chip upper front tooth

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Clothing and Accessories
Item
Description
Clothing
White or yellow pantsuit

Clothing
White sweater

Footwear
Sandals

Jewelry
Yellow gold wedding band

 

[mlhenn]

Marilyn Kay Pratt – The Charley Project

Case file added Feb 10 2021


Details of Disappearance
Pratt was last seen with her husband and friends at the Flame Lounge, a restaurant and cocktail lounge in Spokane, Washington on the evening of October 8, 1971. She and her husband got into an argument and Pratt took her purse and left the table. Her husband at first assumed she'd gone to the bathroom, but she never returned. He later found out she'd gone to another bar nearby, had one beer, used the phone and left. She has never been heard from again. Her husband reported her missing a few days later.

Pratt had five young children and at the time of her disappearance she was active in the Parent-Teacher Association, was a den mother for the Cub Scouts, and was involved with other family activities. Although her husband described her as "mentally erratic" and her ten-year-old daughter said she thought she had a drinking problem, she was devoted to her children.

Her husband stated she had been unfaithful once, several years earlier, and she became depressed after she had a hysterectomy. He said that in the year prior to her October 1971 disappearance, she had briefly dropped out of sight twice and then reappeared with no explanation. Nevertheless, he described their marriage as happy and said he thought she would have contacted the family at some point if she could have. Pratt was seeing a counselor at the time of her disappearance, and the counselor stated that although she was frustrated with her marital situation, he didn't think she would have walked out of her life and left her children without a mother.

In 1979, Pratt's husband had her declared legally dead. She had no life insurance or estate for the family to inherit, but her husband said he wanted a sense of closure in her case. Her case remains unsolved.


Pratt may have been suffering from depression at the time of her disappearance.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

Such a peculiar case - I wonder if she met someone at the second bar and went home with them, which led to foul play.

 

[j_in_c]

Thanks for starting this thread. I am so glad to see people getting loved ones into NAMUS. I wonder a current DNAdoe or Othram identification is in process that triggered her entry into NAMUS. I hope this is a first step in getting answers for those who knew her.

 

[Diane Redfern]

I found this (it includes an article with the husband's name):
Marilyn Kay Pratt -- Missing From Spokane Since 1971
Clipping from The Spokesman-Review - Newspapers.com

 

[Diane Redfern]

I'm not sure how the name change works, I don't know if authorities can keep the previous name or not... I found this lady (warning: post mortem photos) The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
There's no info, but her surname is the same, the ethnicity is uncertain (Lynn was Caucasian and Asian) and she seems to have a chipped tooth.

 

[Bit of hope]

Family Still Coping With Mother's Disappearance More Than Two Decades After Lynn Pratt Vanished, Her Children Talk About Growing Up Without Her

Published in 1997 (respectfully snipped)

Her children, now in their 30s, don’t know if she is dead or alive, whether she was kidnapped or left voluntarily.

“This is the first time I’ve ever spoken publicly about her,” he said, tears welling in his eyes.

On Oct. 10, 1971, Ernie and Lynn Pratt lived on Hartson in the East Central neighborhood.

Ernie Pratt was working as a bartender at the race track. Lynn Pratt was supposed to meet her husband at the track that evening, to bet on a race with him. She didn’t make it, so he placed the bet anyway and lost. He was angry.

They met later with some other friends at a bar. Still angry, Ernie Pratt tore up his wife’s race pass. She left the table. He thought she went to use the bathroom, but she never came back.

According to police reports, Lynn Pratt went to another bar and told the bartender she had an argument with her husband. She drank a beer, made a phone call and left.

No one ever saw her again.

 

[Richard]

50 Years Missing...

Marilyn Kay Pratt

Pratt, circa 1971

• Missing Since 10/08/1971
• Missing From Spokane, Washington
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race White
• Date of Birth 06/03/1941 (80)
• Age 30 years old
• Height and Weight 5'2 - 5'6, 160 - 170 pounds
• Clothing/Jewelry Description A yellow or white pantsuit, a white sweater, sandals and a yellow gold wedding band.
• Medical Conditions Pratt may have been suffering from depression at the time of her disappearance.
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, blue eyes. Pratt has a hysterectomy scar on her abdomen and a small chip in her upper front tooth, and her ears are pierced. Her nickname is Lynn.

Details of Disappearance

Pratt was last seen with her husband and friends at the Flame Lounge, a restaurant and cocktail lounge in Spokane, Washington on the evening of October 8, 1971. She and her husband got into an argument and Pratt took her purse and left the table. Her husband at first assumed she'd gone to the bathroom, but she never returned. He later found out she'd gone to another bar nearby, had one beer, used the phone and left. She has never been heard from again. Her husband reported her missing a few days later.

Pratt had five young children and at the time of her disappearance she was active in the Parent-Teacher Association, was a den mother for the Cub Scouts, and was involved with other family activities. Although her husband described her as "mentally erratic" and her ten-year-old daughter said she thought she had a drinking problem, she was devoted to her children.

Her husband stated she had been unfaithful once, several years earlier, and she became depressed after she had a hysterectomy. He said that in the year prior to her October 1971 disappearance, she had briefly dropped out of sight twice and then reappeared with no explanation. Nevertheless, he described their marriage as happy and said he thought she would have contacted the family at some point if she could have. Pratt was seeing a counselor at the time of her disappearance, and the counselor stated that although she was frustrated with her marital situation, he didn't think she would have walked out of her life and left her children without a mother.

In 1979, Pratt's husband had her declared legally dead. She had no life insurance or estate for the family to inherit, but her husband said he wanted a sense of closure in her case. Her case remains unsolved.

Investigating Agency

• Spokane Police Department 509-755-2489

Source Information

• NamUs
• Washington State Missing Persons Information
• The Spokane
• Marilyn Kay Pratt – The Charley Project

 

[Diane Redfern]

Family Still Coping With Mother's Disappearance More Than Two Decades After Lynn Pratt Vanished, Her Children Talk About Growing Up Without Her

Published in 1997 (respectfully snipped)

Her children, now in their 30s, don’t know if she is dead or alive, whether she was kidnapped or left voluntarily.

“This is the first time I’ve ever spoken publicly about her,” he said, tears welling in his eyes.

On Oct. 10, 1971, Ernie and Lynn Pratt lived on Hartson in the East Central neighborhood.

Ernie Pratt was working as a bartender at the race track. Lynn Pratt was supposed to meet her husband at the track that evening, to bet on a race with him. She didn’t make it, so he placed the bet anyway and lost. He was angry.

They met later with some other friends at a bar. Still angry, Ernie Pratt tore up his wife’s race pass. She left the table. He thought she went to use the bathroom, but she never came back.

According to police reports, Lynn Pratt went to another bar and told the bartender she had an argument with her husband. She drank a beer, made a phone call and left.

No one ever saw her again.

WOW. This is far different from the other version... It appears her husband was violent. Other interesting detail is that he worked at the race track as a bartender. What if Lynn call him? I suppose she knew the telephone number of the bar where he worked. Did the friends remember if he abandoned the table to attend the phone?

 

[tmac29]

Bumping for ideas.

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Marilyn Kay Pratt – The Charley Project

 

[Bit of hope]

Bumping for ideas.

What are your ideas?

I would love to see other pictures of Marilyn. It's hard to go by some vague picture of her with sunglasses on.

 

[JSolt1210]

Yeah it does seem like the husband had anger issues, but from the details above, I don't think he was involved. I don't see where he would've had the opportunity. Marilyn left the bar, went to another bar, had a beer, made a phone call, and then left. The husband stayed behind, in the company of friends, and was not reported to leave. If he had, surely they would've said so.

I think the person Marilyn called is more likely to be involved. A friend or relative would've already come forward to say it was them that she called, but that hasn't happened. So Marilyn may have called someone that no one else knew. She'd reportedly had an affair in the past. Could she have kept in touch with that person? Maybe that person harmed her.

 

[Bit of hope]

More info in this paper clipping from My Heritage. I feel really sad for this family.

All kinds of theories.
I can't help but wonder what leads LE actually followed up. What about her being found in Helena <Montana?> as an amnesia victim and being in a mental institution?
She had a good relationship with Ernie's family in Missoula. Could she have tried to go there? What about her own family? ETA: Marilyn Kay Flagg was born in Montana. In 1950 (at 8 yrs) she was living in Missoula. So there is a link with Montana.
Drowned in the Spokane river? Maybe..or any other body of water. To vague IMO
Victim of Ted Bundy? I think we can rule that out considering his victim profile.
Killed by husband, buried in basement? I wonder what family member came up with that theory and why? And if this was a serious option LE looked into.
Calling a friend/(ex) lover from the bar she was last seen in, fed up with another fight with her husband, asking to pick her up and from there things went wrong or maybe not at all.
She left of her own accord, leaving her children behind to start a new life and lived happily ever after? IMO It takes a special kind of person with a particular set of traits and emotions (or lack of it) and a special kind of situation to do so (depression, abuse, disappointed in life as it turned out, huge depts, f.i.) I hear the chords of the 'Ballad of Lucy Jordan' now..........

From My Heritage

9 Oct 1997, The Spokesman-Review

Head of clipping is: Family still coping with mother's disappearance.

The picture is to big to post it in one piece, so I had to cut it up.

 

[Beekarina]

So it sounds from the article above as though she left the second bar, and briefly went to the family home? Did I follow tht correctly? Where her young son remembers seeing her?

 

[JSolt1210]

So it sounds from the article above as though she left the second bar, and briefly went to the family home? Did I follow tht correctly? Where her young son remembers seeing her?

Yeah that's what it seems like to me too.

I'm just confused as to how and where the sighting took place. The article says that Chris was "with a baby sitter but wandered away" and then "saw his mom at home."

Was the baby sitter watching Chris in one part of his house, and Chris then wandered to another part and saw his mom there? Was Chris being watched at the house next door, and then he wandered back to his own home? Did the baby sitter ever confirm the sighting? Is the memory accurate at all? I mean, Chris was 6.

I think it's telling that the children, now grown, don't seem to suspect their father, even though Ernie had already died two years before this article was published in 1997. In fact, one of them adds that for years Ernie slept on the couch in case Marilyn returned in the middle of the night so he could let her in. Maybe he felt guilty that the last interaction he had with his wife was a bitter and heated argument.

 

[Beekarina]

Right, it's so hard to try and sort out?

We know it was evening and October, but we have no idea how late it was.Was it dark? Really dark? In 1971, a 6 year -old kid certainly could have been out wandering around early in the evening riding bikes with other kids, that sort of thing--especially as you suggested if the babysitter was a neighbor. This would be less likely if it was 10, 11pm, midnight, etc.

It doesn't read as though he looked out a window and saw his mom?

It's really not clear though and does mention more than one day--i.e. his birthday is also mentioned. Was he turning 6 or turning 7? Did she perhaps slip back in and leave a present? A card? Could there have been a second altercation with her husband at that time, given his history of having a violent temper?

The mention of her hysterectomy is also odd. I know the scar is relevant to her case, but the way it is all lumped in with counseling, etc. reminds me a bit of the old "All In The Family" episodes when Edith went through menopause. Different era, different attitudes? i.e. "she no longer had a uterus, she was hormonal, she was "crazy", etc could all be used to cover up a crime.....

 

[Bit of hope]

So it sounds from the article above as though she left the second bar, and briefly went to the family home? Did I follow tht correctly? Where her young son remembers seeing her?

It sounds like it. Maybe someone (who she had called in the bar to pick her up) was waiting outside in a car and she wanted to take some personal things from the home, like clothing and toiletries or maybe money and didn't expect someone at home. Were all the children at the babysitters btw? Maybe her son remembers clearly he saw her but LE didn't believe him, because he was so young and was mixing up the days. Who knows. You would think if she took something from the house her husband would have known that I guess, but I never heard anything about that.

 

[Beekarina]

It sounds like it. Maybe someone (who she had called in the bar to pick her up) was waiting outside in a car and she wanted to take some personal things from the home, like clothing and toiletries or maybe money and didn't expect someone at home. Were all the children at the babysitters btw? Maybe her son remembers clearly he saw her but LE didn't believe him, because he was so young and was mixing up the days. Who knows. You would think if she took something from the house her husband would have known that I guess, but I never heard anything about that.

Her not meeting her husband as planned at the track also gives some credence to the theory of a planned meeting with another person. Paired with her prior history, it seems possible she may have at least had tentative plans? Some sort of affair or...something?

Where it doesn't make much sense is stopping off at the second bar for a beer, but that could be part of a plan too. She may have known her husband well enough to know he would rage at her in front of others for not showing up at the track. Then she goes to the next location, and makes sure another neutral person knows they were fighting. And then? Poof.

It seems entirely possible she did go voluntarily missing....or intended to.

 

[Beekarina]

And good question about the older son. Not sure in 1971 if an 11 year old would have been with a sitter? I wonder where he was too? The article doesn't elaborate. Maybe at a friend's house? Maybe a school related function?

I checked and October 8th, 1971 was a Friday night, so not a school night.